Developments
by katmaree
Summary: Love can be found in the strangest of places. NejiSaku. Now a WIP. Fifth chapter: When Sakura unexpectedly gets the upper hand of the situation.
1. Unwelcome Assistance

The pale blue walls that lined the hall provided a cheery atmosphere but by thirteen year old Haruno Sakura's standards, they could have been steeped in blood and raging with the very fires of hell from the turmoil contained within her slight frame.

She fought down the vicious urge to change directions and make an escape from one of the windows of the twelve storey building, an impulse that at present was demanding most of her attention.

With a desperate moan and a few of the half running steps required to keep pace with her Sensei's long strides, she quickly scanned (or re-analysed by medic's terms) the clipboard. It had been shoved forcefully into her hands when she had been peacefully organising the paperclips earlier that morning by the grinning Hokage who had yanked her out of the seat before she could protest. Not that she _would _dare protest to one of Tsunade's decisions, she valued her life too much.

Sakura looked at the first sentence glaring up at her from the papers for what seemed like the millionth time already during their journey through the foyer, up the stairs and finally along this damned corridor. 'Hyuuga Neji: Minor injuries and mild concussion.'

Maybe today it _would_ be worth her life to protest after all. As far as she could see it was a lose lose situation in all directions. Not even jumping from the window was looking like a pleasing prospect.

"Tsunade Sensei?" She asked in the most 'politely inquiring' voice she could muster with knowledge of the trials that lay before her and the panic it created.

This earned her a feminine hum in response from the blonde who was charging along the passage at an alarming pace, forcing nurses to throw themselves against the walls in an effort to avoid being trampled.

"Are you quite, _quite_ sure I'm ready for my first patient?"

"Of course I am. You're already one of the most competent medics I have here."

"But how can you be sure? I've been an assistant only."

"A good assistant."

"I dropped a scalpel last week"

"So did I."

"Tsunade Sensei, with respect, you threw it at the man, I wouldn't call that exactly the same as dropping it," Sakura implored carefully.

The older woman shrugged seeming completely unfazed continuing to speak over her shoulder.

"You don't have to be nervous Sakura, try to have a little self confidence. I'm sure you'll manage perfectly well on your own."

"I really have no idea what I'm doing," Sakura pleaded twisting her hands about the clipboard and crumpling the paper.

"Of course you do. _I_ trained you after all. I'm not going to have your skill wasted by having you follow me around, sending Shizune to an early retirement, when I could use another good medic around here or on the field."

Sakura struggled to respond as a new wave of panic ensued with the mention of field work. Surely only a years worth of training wasn't enough to be considering _field _work!

Tsunade stopped suddenly outside of a door that appeared to be radiating evil from her young apprentice's point of view. The polished brass number and fresh white paint were definitely something to inspire fear indeed the girl concluded solemnly.

"Here we are," Tsunade told her with a flourishing gesture of her hand before surveying the young pink haired medic's un-restrained horror "You're overreacting. I don't think you're used to being told you are able to do something after all these years of working to prove yourself."

Her Sensei's words were washing past Sakura as she dug for a new argument and any opportunity to save herself from this situation and what she was sure to provide her impromptu death.

"I've always thought the Hyuuga's were very _supercilious_," Sakura told the Hokage whispering the last word as discretely as she could in case Neji had happened upon some sort of enhanced hearing technique or had honed his skills of lip reading through the Byakugan "Surely they would prefer a more experienced medic serving them."

"I've already warned him-" The Hokage cut herself off and opted for a hasty correction "I've already _explained _the situation to him and he was surprisingly happy to help."

Sakura quickly filtered through the small amount of information she had collected concerning the white eyed jerk…genius. The words 'happy' and 'help' didn't even seem to fall under the vocabulary she had listed for him.

"Sadistic bastard," She muttered under her breath already imagining the arrogant laughter.

"Pardon?"

Sakura coughed quickly.

"Nothing," She lied unconvincingly.

"I thought you'd be more comfortable with someone of your own age group that might be more understanding. You can go in now," She finished her comment by using a thumb to indicate the door.

"He's a year older than me," Sakura countered quickly "And from what I know he is no more understanding than a brick."

Tsunade waved an idle hand.

"A year is hardly going to make a difference."

"What about the brick part?"

Her sensei ignored the comment which Sakura found incredibly discouraging, forcing her back into the nervous habit of crumpling and re-flattening the papers on the clipboard again. A few seconds later she almost tore the front page in half when Tsunade opened the door and shoved her forwards.

Sakura spun around and stared in apprehensive dismay as the figure of her teacher was slowly obscured behind the closing door before she disappeared completely with a resonant click and a few final inspirational words of comfort.

"Make me proud."

Needless to say, Sakura did not feel inspired or comforted in the least. Instead she stood staring at the door with wide eyes wondering if the Hokage would go so far as to lock it in an effort to keep her from escaping her medic duty.

"Damn, damn, damn," She muttered, repeating the sentiment with increased ferocity every time.

"If I may interrupt," The somewhat haughty voice came from behind her making her jump several feet into the air "In future, it could serve you well to first confirm whether or not your patient is awake before you begin your…tirade."

Sakura spun around to face the room trying to regain the little composure she had as she observed Hyuuga Neji sitting idly on the bed looking entirely uninterested in his surroundings and consequently, her.

"You're supposed to be concussed!" She hissed at him taking a few wary steps backwards until she hit the wall.

"Mild concussion is hardly enough to alleviate me of my consciousness however if you would care to hand me that lamp I will gladly attempt to render myself into a comatose for your benefit," He told her wryly.

"No no," She managed to choke out from her panic. None of her training had involved anything like this. Her answer made Neji smile…or smirk, it was difficult to determine any sort of difference between the two.

She gave him a nervous glance trying to establish exactly what injury he had sustained having been too preoccupied to register what the clipboard pages had said past the first line. Unfortunately, he seemed to have realised what she was trying to do and raised one leg slightly from the edge of the bed.

"Profuse bleeding from kunai wound on leg," He told her bluntly and she cursed her lack of scrutiny.

"R…Right. What exactly happened?"

"Shouldn't it tell you on your records sheet?" He asked pointing at the accursed clipboard she still clutched.

"I like to hear it from my patients," She snapped at him but truthfully the papers she had were so crinkled from her panicked ministrations that it was impossible to read through the creases and smudged ink.

She got the distinct and uncomfortable impression Neji knew she was lying despite his impassive, opaque gaze. It was not the veiled stare Shino had or the puppy stare Naruto would adopt at the mention of Ramen but entirely calculating and analytical without a hint of emotion. All in all, it was making her nervous.

"We were taking a charge to Suna when we were ambushed a days travel from here. The man being transported has since been delivered safely while I was chosen to convey another injured comrade home having sustained a wound myself," He recited in a monotone making her think of Iruka reading from a textbook when she was still at the academy.

"Okay," She began feeling a bit more confident now he had stopped making sarcastic taunts "Any indications of poisoning on the weapon blade?"

"None at all."

"There doesn't appear to be any signs of infection either."

"No."

"A clean cut."

"Indeed. Are there any other thoughts you would like to share at present?"

Her mouth snapped shut. She hadn't even realised she had been rambling. Shaking her head in answer she made her way cautiously around the bed to the kit laid out for her. Picking out the things she needed to clean the gash she took a moment to compose herself again, pretending to read the label of the bottle she required.

He was just like one of the fish she had practiced healing very early on in her training. A very egotistical and outspoken salmon. Nothing to worry about at all. She struggled to convince herself but the mere thought of Neji as an aquatic animal gave her enough confidence to turn back around and crouch to examine the limb still dangling quaintly off the bed.

"The other leg," Neji corrected her quickly before she had so much as a chance to figure that out herself which she was _certain_ she would have eventually.

With a scowl she turned to his other leg and inspected the cut carefully happy to finally be doing something he wouldn't need to _help_ her with. She almost hit him with the bottle and cotton balls in fright when he spoke again startling her.

"I assume you will not require assistance for this task at least?"

She looked up at him from her squatting position in irritation. Was he reading her freaking _mind_?

"No, I assure you I am quite well equipped for the task of dabbing on the betadine. You won't even need stitches but if you're_ lucky _I'll give you a bandaid. We might still have some in pink," She hissed angrily forcefully slapping the antiseptic soaked cotton ball against his leg in what she hoped was a remotely painful manner before easily closing it with chakra.

He was mercifully silent for a few minutes.

"You're going to need to do something about the concussion too. I can't fight like this," He told her with a strained voice as though it pained him to admit it.

"I'm getting to it!" She roared at him rising so she could shout at his face rather than his ankle. He winced slightly and her eyes widened in panic as she recalled he had probably taken a blow to his head and didn't need her shouting next to him.

"I'm sorry!" She slapped her hand to her mouth as he winced again before continuing in a whisper "I'm sorry," She told him and patted his head in what she considered a comforting manner.

"It's fine," He told her slapping the hand away with the air of swatting a fly. She clutched it to her chest looking worriedly at him "It's fine Haruno," He repeated.

"O…Okay. I'll deal with that now then."

He inclined his head in a dignified nod.

She placed a finger carefully over his temples so the glowing green chakra just brushed against him.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" He asked, breaking her concentration. She angrily released the equivalent of a chakra poke to one side of his head making him grimace.

"Yes," she muttered vehemently.

It was an easy procedure she had practiced before and only took her a few minutes to successfully complete the task. Neji had sat with his eyes closed and didn't risk saying anything else.

"Done. How do you feel?" She asked him eventually as she straightened and tried to remove a crick from her back.

"Considerably better," He told her cracking open an eye again as though to see if it was safe.

She sighed with relief and leaned against the wall again.

"Sorry about the shouting and poking and…" She trailed off.

"It's fine," He told her and rose experimentally.

"You can go then. I'm going to stay here and find something to hit my head against."

He gave her a quizzical look but exited without comment. When the door had shut she turned and flattened her palms against the wall before thwacking her forehead against it with a groan.

Tsunade had been wrong; it would be much safer if she spent her life opening bottles and mopping floors. So much for her medical training, she had almost done him more damage than healing.

"Sakura?"

She flung herself upright and away from the wall as Tsunade entered.

"I told you I couldn't do it. I failed," She whimpered.

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm hopeless."

"The healing looked perfectly fine Sakura."

"But Neji-"

"Did nothing but commend your work," Tsunade interrupted.

Sakura understandably, gagged in surprise.

"What?"

"Yes, so I really don't see what you're worrying about. I told you would do fine," She told the shocked girl patting her on the shoulder.

"He didn't mention anything about shouting…or poking…general patient abuse?"

"Should he have?" Tsunade asked with narrowed eyes.

Sakura smiled for the first time that day since she had been contently squished in the office chair colour coordinating the paperclips that morning.

"Of course not."

A/N: (Nut2 from 'The Cashew Nuts') I'm not sure about this, whether it will be a oneshot or not. If it isn't and turns chaptery it will be a disjointed collection of bits and pieces mainly dredged up from a 40ish page oneshot that I wrote a while back then decided I didn't like /headdesk/. I hope to salvage some useable bits from it.

I'm here in this new account mainly to prevent the overcrowding of 'The Cashew Nuts' and making it easier for watchers who are only looking for Nut1's fics not mine etc. I still love Nut1 and all her nutty goodness of course and I'll still be snooping around the other account (and updating 'New Confrontations' from it) :D

Hope you all had a Merry Christmas and those of you in the Nth Hemisphere are looking forward or are already enjoying school/work. /cough/bwhahahahah/cough/ I suppose people working in the Sth are back now too anyway…bwhahahahah/cough/ (lazy student enjoying chance to…laze)

And if anyone is going to see the Eragon movie, don't. /cries with disappointment/ Anyway, now that these notes have taken up half the fic…

Thank you for your time and for reading! Bye!

EDIT: This will now be continued. I have made my resolute decision the suffering will continue for another few chapters ;p


	2. Unwelcome Thanks

It had been truly an uneventful day. _Almost_ as uneventful as the entire past month Sakura concluded as she slumped against the doorframe leading out of Konoha Hospital. The beautiful summer weather she could glimpse through the glass had never seemed quite so dull as today.

Except perhaps yesterday.

She groaned and ran a hand through her already messy hair, any sort of styling long since destroyed after her thrilling day of work and training. Tsunade may or may not be trying to kill her. Either way it would benefit her Sensei by providing a tough medic already well experienced in battle or it would rid Tsunade of the effort it took to hurl Sakura at a wall each day.

Yes, a very encouraging thought indeed.

"Excuse me, do you require assistance?"

Sakura spun around in astonishment. Perhaps the day could improve after all she considered as she flashed Neji a grin. He glared stoically back.

"Please do not incorrectly assume I am concerned for your welfare. I only ask because you are blocking the exit and I have several pressing appointments someone of your status could not possibly comprehend."

The smile disappeared as quickly as it had arrived and Sakura moved compliantly to let him pass.

"Thank you," He moved purposefully forward without looking at her but she blocked him with an arm, shoving it out as forcefully as she could in the hopes of at least startling the 'Ice Queen'.

"No Neji, allow me. One of your _status, _surely could not consider lowering themselves to something so common as opening a door," She pushed it open for him and then, holding it with her foot, bowed.

He paused for a moment with a blank expression before sneering and stepping outside. She followed him leaving the door to swing closed of its own accord.

"I never got a chance to thank you for that day I healed you."

"Congratulations, you've mastered the door opening however; I do not require an escort."

Sakura chose to ignore him and continued to match his pace

"More specifically, what you said to Tsunade."

"Please trouble yourself no further with my welfare. I'm sure you have domestic duties to attend to."

Chauvinistic bastard.

"Well, whatever you said, I'm now doing Medic work, even if I haven't done the exam yet," She slowed to a stop as he did.

"What an achievement for you. I congratulate you whole heartedly," He told her with little sincerity and even less effort to hide his sarcasm.

"I'm trying to thank you here Neji! I suppose it's one of those things people of your status aren't used to," Sakura answered spitefully.

"Apparently," Neji raised an eyebrow and gave her a quick look up and down "Your gratitude is noted," He finished disdainfully before striding away from her again.

Sakura coughed in disgust as she observed his retreating form with folded arms. What a _fortunate_ thing she had friends like Neji to make her feel so much better about herself.

She turned on her heel and strode determinedly away also in the opposite direction. If she could find Lee she might be able to convince him to throttle the bastard with his own hair next time they had training.

A/N: sorrrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorry.


	3. Unwelcome Meeting

Despite the 'Little Encounter' with Neji as she referred to it with her friends as they laughed over cold beverages later that afternoon, Sakura was not even remotely discouraged and continued with her life, 'status' or no. Thankfully, although it aggrieved her to admit it, Neji was skilled enough that his visits to the Hospital were rare and she hoped that she may never have to discomfort herself in his presence again.

She assumed he felt the same, a theory encouraged by his earlier disdainful attitudes to her and hence, found the situation (mostly ignoring each other entirely when they were forced to pass in the street) an entirely appropriate one.

If those who knew Sakura well, as kind and infrequent in holding any sort of grudge, found this notable behaviour unusual they did not comment. Not even Tsunade who for the time after his approval of her healing had considered them close, a bond she assumed that must have been brought about by Naruto who Neji held a lot of respect for.

As imagined, all this made it very difficult when along with many of the other Chuuin and Genin her age, Sakura received an invitation to Hinata's 15th Birthday. As much as she liked the girl and wished to attend, it was a risk, an encounter she wanted to avoid.

"But then again," Ino told her when she went to her friend and important consultant for such matters "Neji isn't exactly going to be in the commotion of it in a party hat is he?"

Needless to say, Sakura found such a mental image incredibly reassuring (not unlike that of the Neji-salmon) and resolved to attend the gathering after all.

"I'm glad," Ino said sounding relieved when she told of her decision the day before it was the event was set "I'd hate to have to go alone."

* * *

As Sakura and Ino made their way up the path towards the Hyuuga compound they were greeted by a rather sizeable crowd of other people doing the exact same thing. 

"I was unaware Hinata had invited this many people," Ino hissed from somewhere beside her sounding remotely shocked.

"I don't think she did, these must be guests of her parents tonight."

The company before them, older and well dressed in traditional garb, glided through the gates with the ease Sakura had in walking to the fridge in her pyjamas. She was thankful for the decisions she and Ino had made together earlier in relation to their own clothing. Although not formal as the people before them, at least they had chosen modest dresses for the occasion.

All things considered, Sakura thought as she spotted some people their age looking equally as nervous and led Ino towards them, things could have turned out a lot worse.

Reaching the group they gathered together (not all unlike penguins for warmth and security) before crunching up the gravel a lot more loudly than the adult men and women before them had. Past the line of light cast by small paper lanterns on either side of them Sakura could glimpse sloping lawns and alcoves of gardens. Somewhere to her right she could hear falling water but as her eyes adjusted to the glow, the shadows grew and soon she couldn't make out anything past the ground in front of her.

If the gates had seemed daunting the doors were most oppressing. The cluster of the group paused and it was Sakura who finally stepped forward over the hearth.

She entered the building with some reserve and timidness that hadn't been associated with her character for a long time. Ino stepped in behind her, her feet making soft padding noises on the polished wood.

The Hyuuga compound was overwhelming enough to make anyone feel insignificant especially when greeted by Hinata's welcoming but expressionless parents. It made Sakura think of a mask and she couldn't help like she was being carefully examined from behind it.

Thankfully however Hinata soon made an appearance and seeing her smile nervously at them all was enough to restore Sakura's lost 'courage' enough to smile back as the girl silently indicated for the group to follow her.

"I guess that kind of friendliness runs in the family, his charisma must have come from his Uncle," Ino muttered linking arms with Sakura for mutual support as they followed Hinata down a narrow but well lit hall along with the other guests.

"It doesn't take much to guess who you're referring to but it would do us both better to forget about him, we're here for Hinata remember?"

"You're the one he insulted; I'm supposed to be the reasonable one in this situation."

Sakura elbowed her hard enough to bring her to silence as they passed what she expected was the Hyuuga's definition of a modest dining room filled with the people who they had seen at the gates earlier. From what she glimpsed Sakura saw them all smiling, a contradiction to their stiff postures. Needless to say, she was glad they were avoiding that particular gathering.

The room they finally arrived at was much more comfortable and many of the people seemed to only need to step into the light and warmth to be revived. Noise began to buzz around them and Ino looked considerably relieved as she peered around. Her eyes completely lit up however when she spotted the food on display.

"Oooh, I think the worth of coming tonight has just been confirmed."

"Hinata has a certain gift she needs to receive first Ino," She said steering her away. Sakura was convinced that at their present age, food was Ino's substitute for alcohol when they went out.

She was going to be a terrible drinker one day Sakura thought with a grin.

While waiting for a pause in the flow of people well wishing Hinata Sakura examined the individuals around them. They were in a large room and it still seemed crowded. Sakura guessed the number off people, although all of them friendly to Hinata, were her parents doing. Socialising must be an important part of being an heiress and no doubt community politics would conduct insult towards anyone not invited.

"Ino, Sakura," Hinata smiled and seemed genuinely glad to see them "You have no idea how glad I am you came," She hesitated "I see Naruto didn't make it?"

"Unfortunately he is still training outside of Konoha," Sakura told her "But I'm sure he would be happy for you."

Hinata smiled and Ino stepped forward.

"This is for you of course," She said handing it to her.

"And you had better appreciate it; I had to do everything in my power to stop Ino from keeping it for herself!" Sakura mocked and received a deserved slap across the arm from her friend. Hinata laughed behind her hand.

"Come Hinata, we needn't associate ourselves with such nonsense any longer," Ino pronounced and linked arms with the other girl before leading her away giving Sakura a last wink over her shoulder.

She had loaned Ino her best shoes and this was the treatment she was to receive? Sakura smiled and pulled a chair towards a group she vaguely knew from the academy.

It must have been over an hour later when Ino returned and clasped her shoulder.

"There you are! Have you been having fun?" She asked Ino.

"Not as much fun as you're about to have, come with me."

Sakura followed obediently behind, Ino had the ability to make crowds part as she pushed through determinedly. They finally paused at one of the tables of the remaining food.

"Yes Ino, it's food. Amazing."

"Over there, in the corner, it's your old friend," Ino told her mischievously.

Sakura looked up and chocked in response before turning away quickly.

"What the _hell_ is he doing here?"

"Well Sakura, I'd imagine he is standing in what just happens to be his house," Ino teased poking her friends forehead in a very familiar manner "I thought you'd be thrilled to see him."

"You said he wouldn't be here!" Sakura hissed wringing her hands.

"I _assumed_ he wouldn't be here. What are you so worried about? It's not like he's strolling over to make casual conversation," Ino said glancing over her shoulder a few times.

"He hasn't seen us has he?" Sakura asked desperately, well and truly ready to dive under the table if it came to that.

"Of course he has, he's staring at you right now," Ino said in a comforting manner.

That was the final straw and Sakura hurried away until she was well out of sight range. Unless of course he decided to Byakugan her but she expected even he didn't take his intimidating people to that level. Ino caught up with her a few minutes later.

"What's wrong with you? Don't tell me he said something again?" Ino asked in an alarming combination of concern and fierceness.

"No…It's just…"

"Yes?" Her friend prompted patiently.

"Well, I just don't like him very much."

"I figured," Ino told her sarcastically "Don't tell me you're frightened of him?"

Something gripped Sakura and she gave Ino a determined look.

"Don't be ridiculous. Leave me, I'm fine."

"I don't like it when you have a face set like that."

"I'm fine," Sakura told her rearranging her face into what she hoped was a smile "Go, and let's hope this time you don't come back with any more 'wonderful news'"

Ino smiled back before disappearing into the crowd again. Sakura watched her leave before marching back in the direction she had come.

If he had been looking at her earlier he ignored her completely now as she approached him. Standing rigidly in the corner with his back to the wall Sakura could have almost mistaken him for a piece of stonework. A poorly crafted lump of cold marble she convinced herself. No, something cheaper; a small mound of gravel perhaps? Despite this she forced herself to stand next to him, mimicking his pose in an attempt of mockery.

"I didn't think you to be the party type Neji."

"You don't seem particularly thrilled either."

"Why did you even bother to come? To stand in the corner and look daunting?"

"Why did you; to harass me?"

"That wasn't my intention."

There was a silence for a moment but neither moved from where they were. To Sakura's surprise it was Neji who broke the silence, startling her.

"My Uncle requests I observe my cousin's movements at events like these."

"He asks you to spy on Hinata?"

"You are a person of little worth so I do not expect you to understand the importance of my cousin's wellbeing and continued survival. I'm here to protect her if it comes to that, not impinge upon her privacy."

"So you consider worth to be defined by money and power then?"

"In society, yes. Physical prowess can be an attribute but those possessing it do not require the protection," He gave her a sidelong glance but she could gather no thought or emotion from it. She had taken to assuming everything he said was a slander anyway.

"Obviously Hinata is not considered a good enough a fighter to reside safely in her own home amongst friends."

"Perhaps not yet. Do not make the mistake of thinking I am here by choice,"

"Do not trouble yourself Neji, I wouldn't dream of it,"

"Hm," He gave her another pointed look from the corner of his eye and walked away without any further comment.

"Yes, goodbye then," Sakura muttered with a wry grin towards his back.

"I was looking for you. Quiet conversation with Neji in the corner eh?" Ino asked approaching her and passing her a drink "I thought the idea was to avoid him."

"How could I when he possesses such charming conversation?"

"Of course," Ino said playing along with a flick of her hair "How was it?"

"Enlightening of course. He clearly explained my little worth to Konoha's society with neither money, power nor 'fighting prowess' enough to be considered important," Sakura told her friend smiling over the rim of the glass "I consider myself privileged by the knowledge he provides so generously."

Ino laughed spilling some of the contents of her cup on the expensive floor coverings.

"One of these days he might want to remove that pole wedged firmly up his ass and he's going to find there isn't a single person in Konoha who would go to the trouble of helping him."

This time it was Sakura's turn to cackle but when her friend left for the lure of forcing Hinata to dance, Sakura remained standing pensively in the corner for the remainder of the night.

A/N: Eheheheheheheheheheheheeeeeeee. Sorry mates :(


	4. Unwelcome Explanations

It had seemed like a good idea at the time.

Sakura cursed herself for using such a Naruto-ish expression. Excuse really. Since her old team mate had returned with Jiraya several months earlier it had been hard for Sakura not to get swept up in his enthusiasm and mannerisms. Unfortunately however, a new found zeal for work and training didn't automatically enlarge her chakra levels to match that of her blond friends. Rather, she ended up getting more worn out having to chase him around for the well deserved beatings he induced upon himself.

But that wasn't the point and the extra thinking was contributing to the weary medic's diminishing energy issue.

The point was; it had seemed like a good idea at the time.

Sakura stumbled slightly on the uneven stones of the road running somewhere in the general direction of her home. The aforementioned 'time' had been only a few hours earlier that morning when overcome by her confidence and quickly growing prestige as a medic Sakura had taken on a rather challenging surgery. It had, of course, been completed successfully and in an appropriate time frame.

It was only when afterwards (having strutted complacently down the hallway before tumbling unwittingly down the stairs) that she realised she was suffering from chakra depletion. Perhaps it was once again Naruto's influence or just the girls recently discovered pride and self dignity but Sakura refused to admit her 'weakness' and instead made a show of shouting at some poor, unsuspecting nurse for not keeping the floors dry as an excuse for her fall.

It was simple after that. Having collected an arm, and bag load of paper work and books that needed examining she mumbled something about concentrating better at home to the receptionist and stalked out with a sort of wobbly but venerable prance.

There was the reason for her current state of semi-consciousness. Perhaps she had been a bit generous with herself in terms of how she saw her own abilities; stamina at least. Even so, it was an excellent opportunity to practice such a medical procedure in a controlled environment and earn the praise of her Sensei.

Hence, the surgery had seemed like a _very_ good idea at the time making her actions completely justified. The ramifications from this decision on the other hand did not seem to fit into her perfectly logical outlook from that morning. Still, now all she had to do was get home.

Simple in theory but with her heavy bag and the bookwork she had picked up from the hospital obscuring her view it seemed inevitable that eventually she would stumble again.

And fall.

And roll.

It wasn't until she was 'comfortably' settled in the wide gutter running adjacent with the road she had previously been trudging along that Sakura opened her eyes. It turned out lifting her heavy lids required rather a lot more energy than perhaps she had ever realised before and she quickly let them droop again only vaguely recognising the flurry of white above her to be the papers she had been carrying.

When Sakura finally felt compelled to wake she noticed with a start that the sun had progressed rather significantly across the sky. This was why it concerned her that she still felt so weak; in fact, it seemed strange she had regained consciousness at all considering how her vision still blurred slightly as she peered upwards into the clouds casting a shadow on where she lay.

At least she would have had there been any clouds in that sky above her at that particular moment at all never mind positioned to make a nice shaded patch for her. She quickly sat up and swivelled around to stare back up at the road from the shallow ditch. Her head span and pain bounced momentarily from either side of her skull but she ignored it to squint at the form of the person looming over her from the curb side.

Sakura scrunched her nose up in disgust. Of course, who else would be likely to walk past and find her passed out in a gutter than Neji? It couldn't possibly be someone who would actually care about her welfare or health? Instead she got a slightly complacent smirk from the Hyuuga as he looked like he was trying to decide whether to ignore her completely or take the time to stop and snigger in her general direction.

"Go on," she patted the ground beside her "The soil is loose, kick some dirt on me, it's obvious you want to," She told him as she tried to muster a falsely charming smile but failed miserably hardly managing to slur the words out at all.

"I'm hardly going to dirty my shoe for the sake of scorning you," His smirk widened "Not when you seem to be doing such a good job all on your own."

With a grunt of protest Sakura managed to push herself up and stand in a relatively straight and normal manner.

"How long have you been standing there?" She asked him not even bothering to try anything witty.

"How long have you been uh…napping down there?"

She waved a dismissive hand in his direction and took a few unsteady steps forward onto the more level road doing her best to ignore his now impassive gaze as he stood stiffly with his arms folded. With incredible labour and effort she was able to pick up her bag marvelling firstly at the fact it hadn't been stolen and secondly at the fact she hadn't overbalanced just from bending over.

"So I take it those are yours too?" Neji spoke again and she saw him gesture in a general pointing motion from the corner of her eye. Raising her eyes Sakura looked around her and groaned again. As far as she could see in every direction paper was scattered. All through the small area of grass just beyond the fences that bordered the road not to mention the road itself upon which stray bit of paper flapped limply in the wind. Even beyond the small paddocks Sakura could see sheets clinging to tree branches. Sheets of hers. Her paperwork. Her work. Work from the Hospital. Important Hospital records of patients and new research into cures and developing medical techniques.

Anyone else observing may have called it swooning. Perhaps just a 'semi-conscious almost faint' if they were feeling kind. Sakura classified it as a rather rapid and unpractical descent towards the ground. Neji (for whatever perverse reason) saw it as an opportunity to practice in some rare and out of character heroism.

Neji moved quickly towards her with all his grace and Sakura felt herself steadied before she crumpled entirely. However, before she even had a chance to feel relived at the sudden halt in her progression downwards something in the girls temper flared.

The Hyuuga had hardly gone so far as to catch her, instead opting to grab each of her shoulders and prevent her from descending any further making it easy for Sakura to pull away abruptly and successfully fall flat on her face at his feet. She pushed herself into a sitting position and glared at his incredulous face.

"I don't need your help. Please do not _trouble_ yourself," She told him in the most decorous tone she could muster while squatting in the dirt. When he didn't react she began to move in an almost crawl gathering up the pieces of paper nearest her.

It surprised her then (to the point she dropped what parts of her paperwork she had been able to gather) when Neji once again grabbed her in the same manner as before this time pulling her roughly back into a standing position this time facing him.

"I don't need your help," Sakura repeated slowly with a slightly malicious smile as she attempted to pull backwards and away from him again.

"You," He said with a look of focused concentration as he managed to catch each of her wrists instead "Are fast becoming a traffic hazard."

"_A traffic hazard?" _She screeched in response but quickly regretted the strain her answer placed upon her and took a regrettable and shaky step back towards him.

"And that's without even taking time to point out your blatant disregard to Konoha's environmental circumstance with your unhindered littering of this area."

"What?" Sakura garbled beginning to feel dizzy again. Sleep was nice. Sakura liked sleep, it is…nice.

"May I assume you are drunk?" He asked her disdainfully.

Sakura mumbled something in response that she hoped sounded like 'How dare you say such a thing you arrogant fool! I am incredibly affronted and demand you retract the statement at once!' However by the amused smirk Neji had adopted it appeared she may have drooled a little instead.

"If you are unable to walk then I assume it falls under my duty to drag you back to your residence," He slung her arm about his shoulders in the manner they had been taught in the academy specifically for the transport of injured comrades "If you have a dwelling other than the gutter that is."

She ignored the comment and instead tried to focus on taking small steps in time with his. She wasn't injured but he thought she was drunk. Oh wait, she wasn't drunk, she had run out of chakra. Her mind momentarily cleared again as panic made the desire to sleep dissipate. Tsunade was going to kill her.

"Uh, my work?" She flapped a limp hand.

"I'm hardly going to help you with your errands; I'm just moving you out of the way as you are too incapacitated to achieve this yourself," He grunted as he continued to half drag her.

"Then don't help me! I'll do it myself!" She began to struggle again. This guy was really starting to get to her and by that she meant piss her off. It was impossible to tell whether he was trying to help and didn't want to openly divulge it or taking advantage of the opportunity to make her situation worse. It was painful to admit that she wanted to be helped and also that she was…well, in pain, but it would be more painful to suffer anymore of his conceitedness.

"We're not going through this again Haruno! If you pass out again not only do you become a hazard but your undignified behaviour is an embarrassment to this village. Now tell me where you live so I can help you!"

"Oh right! So that's your plan, you're just doing this to find out where I live!" The chakra loss was going to her head. However, the effect of her comment seemed satisfactory and resulted in the first shocked expression Neji had given her that day (and that was including discovering her dead to the world face up in a gutter). So shocked it seemed he would have let go and dropped her entirely had she not managed to preempt him and cling onto his shoulders in a most undignified manner.

He sneered at her.

"You really are drunk." It was perfectly natural for her to try and hit him in response at that moment. Clearly however, getting past his defenses would have been barely possible even disregarding her current state of weakness and he avoided her flailing hand with ease. He gave her another shocked stare. She contested it with a smirk of her own. Her victory however, (as they always seemed to be these days) was short lived as, with a final faltering mumble of distress her chakra reached it's minimum and she fainted again.

A/N: To be continued! Two linking chapters for once in this series! So many questions to be answered! What will Neji do as Sakura passes out in his arms? What are his real motives for helping her out? Would Tsunade really go so far as to kill her own student/dramadrama:p. Hopefully the next instalment will be out very soon (and this update re-in stored some of your faith in my reliability to finish this XD). Thank you very much for taking the time to read and please leave a review on your way out (it helps me update 8D).


	5. Unwelcome Visit

There was no slow awakening this time; instead Sakura became suddenly, and acutely aware of her surroundings. This, she deemed unfortunate as unlike her previous gutter 'nest', she was now sprawled quite happily on a familiar bed and resuming sleep seemed like a rather tempting option.

It wasn't however her own bed, she realised belatedly, but one of the generic hospital beds she saw almost every day. That in itself gave life to several questions she deemed of a most pressing nature; the foremost of course being how she had come to arrive at such a location in the first place.

Not that (with the incredible force of her rapidly impending dread) she couldn't remember the events leading up to her attempted journey home. Instead, glancing at the low sun, there appeared to be several hours of her day still unaccounted for. The majority of that time she now assumed she had spent on this very bed. Sitting up she faced the door with trepidation. That wasn't however the part that was concerning her.

There would have been a small interval in time in which she was somehow relocated from slumping 'drunkenly' (she could admit it now she was recovered) against Neji to sleeping peacefully where she was now. Obviously he had been unable to 'drag her home' as he had intended but she couldn't exactly imagine him helping her here either.

She was almost willing to put money on the idea that he had shoved her back into the gutter for someone else to find.

However, she could engage him with a glare the next time they were unfortunate enough to encounter each other. Right now there were more important issues at hand. She had determined exactly where she was despite not quite knowing how she got there the next logical step would be to get up and leave considering her recovery. There was however, one problem that would perhaps prevent this; the paperwork.

Sakura seriously considered her escape routes. The hospital was large enough that technically, she should be able to escape without Tsunade seeing her. Then again her Sensei could be on the look out for attempted exits through the main doors. No, that could be seriously risky. She could always try to get out of one of the first floor windows under the pretence of checking on a patient. Unless of course Tsunade had borrowed Pakkun to track her. . .

Sakura shook her head feverishly in an attempt to dispel the invading thoughts or rather; plots. In truth, the only thing she could do was explain, apologise and hope like hell there was some way of replacing those papers that didn't involve her own flesh used as parchment. She had a horrible feeling however that would be one option her Sensei would be sure to consider.

Before she could gather any further resolve Sakura gagged as Tsunade suddenly and forcefully shoved the door open narrowly missing the small table beside the bed. Hurriedly trying to erase all traces of deep set horror and panic from her face Sakura hung her head in what she hoped was a guilty manner.

"Feeling better?" Tsunade asked in a kindly manner while revealing she was carrying a single yunomi of green tea. Sakura watched her with reserve as she placed it carefully on the same table she had almost demolished with her entrance.

"Yes, thank you," Sakura hastily muttered suddenly realising a response was probably expected of her.

"You should be pleased having completed such a complex operation," Tsunade reprimanded obviously noting the worried tone in her pupil's voice "Perhaps you wasted a little too much chakra on reducing the pain but otherwise it was almost flawless."

"Except that wasting just a 'little too much' chakra meant I couldn't even get myself home," She answered petulantly before she could stop herself but Tsunade only laughed in response.

"Proves your determination," She told her with a smile "Which is the very reason I expect you back tomorrow ready to finish studying that paperwork you seemed so eager to get at. What did I say? Determination indeed," She finished looking pleased with herself making Sakura wonder if this was some sort of a sick joke or ploy to make her confess.

"I actually intended to talk-" She began hesitantly before she was cut off mid sentence.

"I'll be very disappointed if you ask for a day off just over a little bump to your pride," Tsunade threatened her expression darkening.

"No, that wasn't what I was-"

"Tomorrow then, enjoy your tea."

Before Sakura even had a chance to respond with another 'thank you' the woman had exited leaving the door slightly ajar. Sitting with her legs hanging over the edge of the bed Sakura sipped at her tea half wondering if it was poisoned but enjoying it too much to care.

Besides; poisoning wouldn't give Tsunade nearly as much sadistic pleasure as the plethora of other options available. Sakura was certain that she was to be reprimanded in some form very soon. In fact, her Sensei was probably lurking outside considering her options right at that moment.

There was a movement as the door opened again slowly.

Very soon indeed it appeared. In an attempt to down the rest of her tea Sakura closed her eyes and hurtled as much of the hot liquid down her throat as possible.

"Excuse me."

Sakura gagged for the second time that afternoon this time managing to cough half the contents of her mouth onto the floor.

"No need to react so strongly but then again; I suppose you are not accustomed to having visitors," Neji scornfully told her eyeing the tea on the floor.

"When the visitor is you; yes indeed, not accustomed at all. In fact, it calls into question whether anyone _would_ be accustomed to the idea of you calling in for a casual visit," She answered equally as contempt as she rose.

"Tch, so ungrateful, I had other business to attend to in this area," He patronisingly admonished making her wish she still ha some tea to tip on him. Unfortunately however (or perhaps not), she had to suffice with dabbing at the drops on her shirt.

"And may I inquire as to what exactly I have to be grateful for?"

"It took longer to drag you here than it would have done to shove you back into the gutter."

Despite standing corrected (as it seemed he hadn't actually left her to be found by someone else after all) it still gave Sakura a small satisfaction to see he had at least considered abandoning her.

"Thank you then for your…dragging efforts," She mocked but paused as he continued to glare unswervingly at her "What? I thought you wanted to be thanked?"

"I could take offence to your insincerity," He chided monotonously while shrugging the bag he carried from his shoulders and reaching to select something.

"Are you serious?"

"It depends on how unappreciative you are in regards to these," Neji continued as he moved to the table and began making stacks from the sheets of paper he was pulling from his pack "I told the Hokage I gathered them out of your own bag."

"But you obviously didn't," She hissed pushing him out of the way to look at the slightly battered but otherwise in good condition documents.

"What did I say? Completely ungrateful," He repeated however this time he sounded amused. She turned and rounded on him half torn between relief and annoyance.

"You collected all of these!?"

"Tasks which may seem like impressive feats to one of your skill do not always prove so difficult for the rest of us."

"BUT THEY'RE IN ORDER!" She screamed in disbelief. There was a logical explanation for this; she was still concussed. She could only hope she remained in this state long enough that Tsunade would be so worried she wouldn't care about the papers.

Yeah, good luck.

"It becomes especially convenient if a particular member of 'the rest of us' posses a bloodline ability that prevents them from selecting random sheets in the first place."

From the tone of his voice she almost expected to find him smiling but of course she had to settle for a kind of half smirk.

"Oh Kami…" She muttered and gingerly petted the top of the stack "Thank you Neji, I mean it, honestly."

He let out a drawn sigh suddenly sounding obnoxious again.

"You thank me on such a personal level. Honestly I believe you should be reprimanded for your irresponsibility and would have gladly allowed it to happen. However, the documents seemed to be of some importance to this hospital, I considered their retrieval necessary."

She gaped at him. He ignored her and simply readjusted his bag in preparation to leave.

"Please consider further rest to assure you don't put anyone, or anything else at risk for the remaining hours of the day" He pushed the door open, stepped out into the hall and was about to close it again when he paused "I trust you can return these to their correct place unaided."

"Wait!" She shouted a moment too late as the door snapped curtly shut.

She was only just able to resit the urge to hurl the stack of documents right out the window. Instead, she made the rash decision to bundle them up and follow Neji out into the hallway.

"You could have just told Tsunade what happened then!" Sakura yelled at his retreating form. She was taken aback when he stopped suddenly and stood completely still.

"Ooooh, what's wrong?" She asked grinning as she approached him slowly "Don't like being caught out doing a good deed?"

"It was not my intention to do a 'good deed'," He told her flatly while glaring warningly from the corner of his eyes.

"But you never accepted my thanks!"

"Then consider your thanks accepted."

With a final narrow and menacing look he began to stride away again. Sakura found this unsurprising but when she skipped ahead to keep pace with him, she _was_ surprised to find he made no further attempt to ward her off.

As they reached the final floor of the building and Sakura turned away with the intention of finally filing the damned papers, she gave him a last glance.

"You know Neji, I think we're beginning to see too much of each other," She joked.

"I think we're seeing too little," He said arching an eyebrow "Or at least, I seem to be seeing to little of you doing anything other than making a fool of yourself."

Despite the fact it almost sounded like he was teasing her she glowered heatedly at him for a moment.

"I'm not making a fool of myself right now!" She attempted to counter.

"You do realise you still have tea on your shirt?"

A/N: Update update update 8D! Hehe, hope you enjoyed the ending of this little saga and I managed to keep it a little bit IC.

O.o

I had fun reading some of your guesses too!

Thank you for reading and please, I would be incredibly grateful and appreciative if you left a review on your way out.


End file.
